


Irrational Fears

by dogpoet



Category: Smallville
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-30
Updated: 2004-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-07 02:49:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogpoet/pseuds/dogpoet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lex does <i>not</i> get freaked out after reading <i>The Turn of the Screw.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Irrational Fears

Lex lay in his king-sized bed clutching the blankets. The bedside lamp had remained on, though Lex was no longer reading.

_I'm a grown man,_ Lex thought. _I should be able to read a fucking ghost story without getting scared._

Yet, here he was, unable to sleep after reading _The Turn of the Screw._ It didn't help to live alone in an echoey mansion when one was reading that tale of terror. It was a dark and stormy night besides.

Lex glanced at the clock. 1:03 a.m. Only five and a half hours before daylight. He could do it.

From outside in the corridor, a faint scraping, like wood against marble, reached Lex's ears. He stiffened, listening. He'd been this way for two hours. The night was full of sounds, and every one of them had contributed to Lex's fraught state.

One a.m. Would Clark be awake? Lex knew he was studying for his history final. The cell phone blinked steadily on its charger beside the bed.

Admitting defeat, Lex reached out a bare arm and grabbed the phone. He dialed Clark's cell. The phone rang four times, and Lex was about to hang up, when suddenly, the line came alive and a sleepy voice mumbled, "Hello."

"Hi, Clark. I woke you," Lex said apologetically, even though he wasn't really that sorry. It was a comfort to hear the warm voice of his best friend. Ever since Clark had told him his secret, they had been closer than ever. Close enough that Lex could call at one in the morning just to chat.

"Are you okay?" Clark sounded awake now.

"I'm fine," Lex lied.

"You don't sound fine. Should I come over?"

"You need to sleep. You have a history final."

"Lex..."

"It feels so empty in here," Lex said, conveying more than he intended. Indeed, the room was large and cavernous, and the mirrors on the walls were giving Lex the creeps. He felt as if he should have outgrown this by now. His father would have rebuked him for his irrational fears. There were no ghosts.

"What are you doing?" Clark asked.

"I was reading _The Turn of the Screw._"

"What's that?"

Lex could hear a faint yawn.

"It's a ghost story."

Clark laughed. "You got freaked out."

"I did not."

"You did."

Lex sighed. Clark was impossible.

"I'll be there in one minute, okay? I'll protect you." Clark hung up, still snickering.

Lex was never going to live it down. Oddly, he didn't mind. He snuggled under the covers, already feeling much improved.

True to his word, within a minute, a windblown Clark, clad in pajamas and sneakers, appeared in Lex's bedroom. He sat on the side of the bed.

"Don't even say it."

"I'm not saying anything," Clark grinned, holding up his hands. "I hear this happens to you humans."

"You'd be scared, too, if you read the story!" Lex scooted over in unconscious invitation. Not that Clark had ever climbed into his bed. But something strange had been happening between them of late. Lex's heart thumped in his chest, and not from fear.

Clark bent to remove his sneakers, then, amazingly, he lifted the covers and climbed in. Lex took the gesture as an invitation and shifted his body until he was close to Clark. Clark wrapped his arms around Lex.

"Your pants are wet. And cold."

"What do you expect? I ran here. The fields were wet from the rain."

"You're probably getting grass seeds and mud all over my sheets," Lex complained.

Clark sighed. "You're a pain in the ass."

"So I've been told," Lex said, not trying to cover the double meaning of the statement.

Clark let go of Lex and wriggled under the sheets until Lex heard the faint whisper of cloth hitting the floor.

"Better?" Clark asked, pulling Lex close again.

"Mmm."

"So tell me about this story."

Outside, branches tapped against the windows, and wind howled. But, inside, Lex was safe and warm, anchored by the strength that was Clark Kent. He laid his cheek against the cotton of Clark's shirt, comforted by Clark's hands stroking his bare back.

Lex felt protected now, and he could venture back into the narrative that had caused him such distress.

"There's this governess, and she goes to an old house to take care of two children..."

***

Sometime during the night, Lex woke from a dream of finding skeletons in his kitchen. His heart was racing, and the room seemed unusually dark. Lex was used to bad dreams, however, and he calmed himself, breathing slowly, deeply. All of this took only a second or two, and then Lex remembered where he was. Or, more accurately, who was with him. He turned over on his side and snuggled closer to Clark. The boy was asleep. He'd never know Lex was snuggling.

Of course, Clark chose that moment to shift in his slumber. Lex pulled away instinctively.

"Mmm. Lex?"

"Go back to sleep."

Clark rolled closer to Lex and draped an arm over him in the darkness. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Clark."

Their faces were so close that Lex could feel Clark's breath. Without thought, he closed the distance, though he could have sworn Clark met him halfway.

The kiss was brief and gentle, a gesture of comfort. Then Clark rolled over and turned his back to Lex.

"Clark?" Lex whispered.

There was no answer. Lex smiled and pressed his face to Clark's warm back. After a minute, he also fell asleep.

***

Lex woke at the crack of dawn, just as gray light was beginning to overtake the room. He opened his eyes slowly, not wanting to leave his magic bed, the bed where he had spent a whole night with Clark.

The first thing Lex saw was Clark's wide-open gaze.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Lex mumbled with all the indignance he could muster.

"You look peaceful when you sleep. Not at all like when you're awake." Clark grinned.

"How can you be so chipper this early in the morning?"

"Because I'm not out shovelling manure."

"Shit. Manure. You have to get home."

"Not yet. I just want to stay a little longer."

"Your parents will kill me if they find out you're late for chores because you came over to spend the night. I'm not exactly their favorite person."

"I know you don't believe it, but my parents do like you." Clark reached out and caressed Lex's cheek.

"Would they still like me if they could see this?" Lex asked softly. He imagined Jonathan's stern countenance, set in disapproval.

"But we haven't done anything."

"No. We haven't." Not yet, Lex thought. Desire made him ache deep in his chest.

Clark just looked at him. No guile, no deception, no ulterior motive. Things really weren't all that complicated anymore, Lex realized. It was silly to make them so. He turned his head and kissed the hand that was still touching his face. Clark moved closer, and without any awkwardness, as if they'd been practicing for years, their mouths met in a kiss. A real kiss, lingering and soft. Tentative.

"Last night I dreamt I kissed you," Clark said.

"It wasn't a dream. We did kiss. But you were half-asleep, I think."

"I missed our first kiss?"

"Our first kiss was years ago, remember? And I'm the one who missed it."

"Guess we're even, then."

"Yeah." Lex went for another kiss, but then remembered what time it was. He sat up. "Get your butt out of bed, or you'll be late."

"No, not yet," Clark whined, sounding exactly like the teenager he was. He sat up and kissed Lex again. "Now that it's okay to do this, I don't want to stop."

Lex remembered that feeling. When you finally had permission to touch someone. It had been a long time since he'd felt it. It was soaring through him now. He could allow himself a few moments of weakness, especially since he'd been working so hard.

"I know. Neither do I."

Kissing Clark was addictive. They fell back onto the bed. Clark's body felt so warm and solid, wholesome under his cotton t-shirt and shorts. Lex found himself straddling Clark, taking advantage in a big way.

Clark didn't seem to mind at all.

Lex summoned all of his willpower and managed to pull away from the clutches of the super-powered, very-aroused alien beneath him.

"Home. Before your parents find out you're not in your bed."

"You expect me to run home like this?" Clark nodded toward his erection.

"Yes."

Lex hadn't seen Clark look disappointed in a long time. He hated that expression. And he hated even more when he was the cause of it.

"Hey," he said, lowering his head to kiss Clark's jaw. "I don't want to rush things. I want to do things right with you. If that's even possible for me."

Clark stared at him, his eyes full of something like hope. "It is possible. I believe in you."

Lex had never been in an elevator when someone had cut the cable. He'd never hurtled toward the ground floor with his stomach trying to stay at the twentieth. But he had fallen from a crashing airplane. It had felt something like this.

"Thanks," Lex said, not knowing how else to reply. He straightened up and climbed out of the bed. He extended a hand and Clark clasped it in his as he sat up and put his feet on the floor.

"Lex?"

"Hm?" Lex said absently as he picked Clark's pajama pants up.

There was a long pause. Lex glanced at Clark's face, and what he saw there frightened him.

"I -- "

"Don't say it," Lex rushed.

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't," Clark grumbled, standing up and pulling his pants on. He remained silent while putting the shoes on his feet.

"I'm sorry. It's just..."

"Don't worry so much, okay? Everything's going to be fine." Clark bowed his head and kissed Lex again, crooking his arm around Lex's waist.

"I'm fucked up," Lex declared.

"It's part of your charm." Clark headed for the door. "And what I didn't say? I meant it."

Lex smiled. He couldn't help it. "I know," he said.

"Will I see you after school?"

"If you're not grounded. Now get out of here."

"I'm too old to be grounded!" Clark grinned as he backed into the corridor and closed the door to Lex's room.

Lex listened to the sound of Clark's retreating footsteps. "I love you, too," he said, unsure whether or not he wanted Clark to hear.


End file.
